


Love at Midnight

by emikoo



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Not a fanfic, Romance, kim ji soo as moon ji eun, kim min jae as seo young jae
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 17:45:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18921961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emikoo/pseuds/emikoo
Summary: After moving in a run down apartment, Seo Young Jae forms a friendship with his enigmatic neighbor who has a questionable way of earning money.(also available in wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/188225777-love-at-midnight)





	Love at Midnight

Back when he was still attending college, Seo Young Jae suddenly had this strong urge to live by himself.

He never experienced living away from home when he was still a student. The commute between the university and his house were just two subway rides away, so there was no reason for him to ask his parents to spend money just so that he can indulge himself in his desire for independence and solitude. On top of that, they were struggling financially with his older brother going to medical school, unecessary expenses were quickly shut down in their household.

So from time to time, he would imagine how his life would be if he finally could be able to afford to live alone. He found it calming when he thought of having the freedom to spend his day on his own volition. To wake up at his own time without his mother knocking at his room. To decide on what meal he would like to prepare for himself, instead of having to deal with whatever was prepared at their home. To go out without having to ask his parents for permission, and being pondered with questions about it. To look outside his window, enjoying the silence of his apartment. Maybe with a cup of tea, maybe with soft music playing.

He wanted a change of pace from his current life.

So when he finally graduated, and eventually landed an okay paying job as a chef in a small japanese restaurant a bit far from home, he did it. He finally moved out.

. . .

The apartment he found wasn't exactly good. It was a four story building that was definitely run down, but it was what he could afford with his salary, plus it was only 10 minute walk from where he worked.

The exterior of the building was filled with dark water stains that it gave off the impression of being haunted. Inside, the paint on the walls were faded, the stairs creaked when you step on it, and there was contant musty smell in the building everytime you went in. His room was located on the third floor, with a number six fixed on the door. Each floor consisted of two apartments, with a total of eight apartments in the building.

He lived next to a young married couple, probably in their early thirties. He wasn't on friendly terms with them. Young Jae wasn't the type to initiate small talk with people and apparently, neither are they, but whenever he passed either of the pair or both of them, they exchanged greetings and smiled at each other. They were nice enough, he thought, but there was just one problem. They have a new born baby.

The wall between their apartment was paper thin, and more often than not, the loud wailing of the baby would wake him up in the middle of the night. After that he'd hear the hushed voices of the couple, probably arguing on who's turn it is to take care of the crying infant. He knows that this is by no means their fault. Babies cry all the time, and you can't expect when it'll happen, so he never complained.

He's lived in this apartment for three weeks now, you can say he's used to being waken up by the baby. Most times he would just cover his head with a pillow to muffle the noise and doze off, but right now he was having a hard time going back to sleep. The baby was still crying and he could hear both of the parents trying to comfort it. Glancing at the digital clock on his bedside table, it was already 1:45 in the morning. He finally accepted that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep while the baby continued to cry. He grabbed a pack of menthol cigarettes and a lighter and decided to hang out on the roof top for a while.

The roof top of the apartment was probably the one good thing in the apartment. Although there wasn't much to be seen around, at least it provided him a sort solace from the noise around him. Usually he would hang around here whenever things get a bit noisy downstairs, and spend his time smoking, sometimes with a beer in hand. This wasn't exactly the life he envisioned back then. Ever since he moved in, he never got the quiet mornings he craved so much.

Every morning he would hear the dog from the building beside him barking at anyone who passes by, some children would shriek while they play with their friends, while the landlord from downstairs would yell at them to shut up. By the time the noise went down, he was already off to work.

Nights were usually better, there were rare moments when the baby next door was quiet for the whole evening. Times like these were his favorite, he would brew himself a cup of tea and smoke a cigarette by his window. Sometimes, he could hear a faint sound of music coming from the apartment just above his. From what little he could hear, the lyrics sounded Japanese, and it seemed like an old tune, something that would have been popular back in the 70s or 80s. He assumed that the occupant on the 4th floor was probably an old Japanese guy or lady. Aside from the couple next door and the land lord who occupied a room on the first floor, he haven't met any other tenants in the three weeks he's stayed here. He doesn't even know if every room was occupied.

He leaned his elbows on the parapet and lit himself a cigarette and stared at the street below him, at the dead of the night there was no one walking around. Enjoying the gentle breeze of the night, he closed his eyes as his smoked his cigarette. Sometimes, he thought of how people would probably think it's odd that he preferred being by himself. He was never much of a talker, he could hold conversations with people, but he never did made any long lasting friendship with anyone. He was never active on social media, so when he wasn't with his classmates, he never really bothered hitting them up, so at the end, he lost contact with any possible friends.

The wailing of the baby has long since died down, but he wasn't at all sleepy. He sat himself on the pyung sang, and lit another stick of cigarette. There wasn't much on the rooftop, aside from the few laundry hanging around, and a bunch of old junk at one corner, probably the landlords. There was an old cassette player that seemed to be in working condition, but he never bothered to try turning it on. Instead, he lifted his head and gazed at the night sky and thought of nothing in particular, just quietly enjoying his cigarette.

The sound of a doorknob clicking disrupted him from his trance. He turned his head to see if it was just his imagination. He wasn't sure what time it was, he hadn't brought his phone or worn a watch, but this surely wasn't the hour for someone to be up. Aside from him, of course. Staring at the door, the clicking still continued, whoever it was on the other side seemed to be having a hard time opening the old door. The person on the other side gave the door a hard shove, busting it open. Young Jae was surprised to see that it was a woman. This was someone he haven't met yet.

In turn, the woman seemed to be surprised as well to see that someone was here at this time of hour. Quickly regaining her composure, she walked closer to him. When her face was finally illuminated by the warm pin lights of the rooftop, he realized that the woman was probably around the same age as him, and she was undeniably beautiful. She was wearing a black off shoulder dress that hugged her curves, something that girls would wear for a party.

"You could've helped me with that door." She said staring at him, skipping any pleasantries. She seemed to be pissed at him. He stared right back at her, surprised with attitude, despite this being the first time they had met.

"With the way you busted it open, I don't think you needed much assistance." He immediately felt a tinge of guilt with his remark, but she spoke to him the same way, so he tried not let it bother him much.

Ignoring his comment, she proceeded to sit beside him. They were still staring at each other, both wondering on how this situation is going to turn out. He couldn't help but feel like she was sizing him up. Her cheeks were flushed, he thought that she might be tipsy.

"I don't think we've met, you new here?" she asked him.

"I just moved in three weeks back."

"Three weeks already? Funny how I never ran into you." She stopped staring at him and shifted her gaze in front. "Mind if I have a smoke?" She then asked, but before he could even answer she was already pulling a pack Virginia lights from her purse. Placing the cigarette between her lips, she proceeded to light her stick, but her lighter seemed to be out of oil, producing nothing but a spark. Groaning in frustration, she continued to click her lighter without any success.

"Here," Bringing out his lighter, he brought it close to the tip of her cigarette and clicked it producing a small flame. Holding the cigarette between her fingers, she then continued to inhale lightly until her cigarette was well lit.

"Thanks." Their eyes locked for a second, then she returned her gaze at the cassette player that was in front of them.

An awkward silence settled between them, this was probably his chance to excuse himself and get back to his room, but he didn't make move. Instead, they remained seated beside each other while they enjoyed their cigarette, finding pleasure as the smoke settled inside their lungs.

"Sorry about not helping you with the door," he started, "I wasn't expecting that somebody else would be up at this hour. For a moment, I thought I was only hearing things."

"No, please," she looked at him, and waved her hands at him, suddenly flustered with his apology. It seemed to have brought her back to her senses. "I should be the one who's sorry for getting mad at you when we don't even know each other. Please forgive me, I just got back from work and I'm in a bit of a sour mood."

"How about we start over?" Offering his hand for a shake he introduced himself, and gave her a tight lipped smile. "My name's Seo Young Jae, I just moved in on Room 6 three weeks ago."

"Moon Ji Eun, Room 8." She shook his hand but didn't bother to smile back at him. "I think I've been here for 6 months now."

They fell into another silence, although it wasn't as awkward as the one before.

"Would you mind if I play some music? I usually spend my time here just listening and having a smoke." she asked him, and this time she waited for his answer. He shook his head in reply, stating that he didn't mind at all. Although he wondered if she was she going to use the old cassette player in front of them, and just to answer his question she pulled out a cassette tape from her purse.

"You keep a cassette tape in your purse?" He asked her in surprise.

"As if," she glanced at him with an incredulous look. "I grabbed it from my apartment before I went up here."

She stood up and crouched in front of the cassette player plugging it in and loading the tape into it. After pressing play, a very relaxing beat he hasn't heard before started playing, it made him want to take a late night drive into the city. When the lyrics started he realized it was a Japanese song. She returned to her seat beside him.

"So you're the one playing those Japanese songs I hear at night."

"No way, you hear me playing them?"

"Only when I hang out by my window. I thought an old Japanese lady lived right above me, I wasn't expecting that it'd be someone around my age, and Korean none the less." She gave him a smirk with his remark, it was the closest thing he got from a smile. It made her face light up. She's really pretty, he thought.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you for not being an old Japanese lady. My mom was half Japanese, I got a bunch of her mixtapes from the 80s when I moved out. Used to hear it a whole lot when I was little, and I loved it ever since. A lot of people categorize this type of music as City Pop."

"City Pop huh, I really like it. What song are you playing right now?"

"It's called Midnight Pretenders by Tomoko Aran." She turned her head to look at him. She still had that smirk on her face. "I haven't met anyone who enjoys this as much as me, I'm glad you like it." He felt a knot building up inside him, suddenly it was hard to breathe.

"Tell me, why are you up so late? I really wasn't expecting anyone here at this hour." She asked him curiously.

"The baby next door kept on crying I couldn't go back to sleep." They were starting to feel at ease with each other. He was enjoying speaking with her, which didn't happen much often with other people, male or female.

"Oh so you live beside that young married couple. I could sometimes hear their baby crying from my window, but not loud enough to keep me awake."

"How about you? What type of work do you do that demands your time even after midnight?" He asked her. With the way she was dressed, it was more like she'd gone out drinking with her friends rather doing overtime work, yet she mentioned earlier that she came back from work.

"It's a secret." She stared at him for a moment, contemplating whether she should continue with this topic of conversation. "I don't really talk about my work." she admitted. "How about you take a guess? If you get it right I'll tell you."

"Now you got me all curious. Are you some kind of spy? A secret agent, probably?" She laughed at how silly his ideas were, her lips forming a heart shape while she laughed, and in turn he laughed along with her. Her smile was incredibly beautiful.

"I wouldn't guess it right, would I?" He asked when they settled down.

"No, you probably wouldn't." She replied, shaking her head at him.

"Well, whatever you work is, it's not important. But in exchange, I guess I can't tell you what my work is either." He told her, dropping the subject.

"Fair enough." She took a long drag from her cigarette, and exhaled the smoke from her nose. "You probably won't believe this, but this is the first time I've hung out with someone my age ever since I started living alone." She confessed, without looking at him. "It's pretty refreshing."

"It's the same for me."

"You don't have any friends?"

"Haven't been in touch with them for a while now."

"Really? I didn't think of you as the type."

"Is it really hard to believe?"

"I mean, you're pretty easy to talk to. I thought you were the friendly type."

"Not friendly enough to stay in contact with my friends, I guess." He said this with a laugh. "What about you? Don't got any friends too?"

"Nope. I guess we're in the same boat when it comes to friends."

This got him more curious on what her field of work is. She seemed to have been drinking when she got here. Who was she drinking with then if not her friends? Was she drinking alone? Or was she with a boyfriend?

A new track played from her cassette tape.

"What's this one called? I love it." He asked her, bobbing his head to the beat.

"Slow Nights, also by Tomoko Aran. It's the last track on the tape."

They settled into a comfortable silence as they listened to the music. Dawn was slowly approaching, the sky above them was turning blue, birds were starting to chirp. When the song ended, Ji Eun stood up and took the tape out of the cassette player.

"As much as I'd like to watch the sunrise with you, I need to catch some sleep." She said as she lifted her arms for a stretch, giving out a yawn. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you around." He replied with a smile.

She smiled back at him and waved her hand, saying goodbye. He watched as she went back inside the door she probably broke. After she left, Young Jae felt that he was sleepy as well. He decides to go back to his apartment, he still got a few hours to sleep before he has get up for work.


End file.
